The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 160- 162

Chapter 160: Go Wherever You Find Comfortable and Leave Me Alone

After being informed that the gift Yao Yi and others had given to Ling Zhang was a white fox cub, Wang Dashan had a somewhat different expression in his eyes when he looked at Yao Yi.

Just like a craftsman who feared that his apprentices would some day obsolete him after they learned all his skills, Wang Dashan was deeply worried that Yao Yi and others might some day replace him and the other twenty-three security guards as trusted subordinates of their young master.

“Where did you get that white fox cub?” Wang Dashan inquired of Yao Yi.

Yao Yi, unaware of Wang Dashan’s complicated feelings, replied in a delighted tone of voice, “We bought it. Originally we had intended to buy a puppy, but as luck would have it, a hunter was selling fox cubs he’d found in a fox den, so we purchased the best one.”

“Where are the others?” asked Wang Dashan.

“There were only three in total. And all of them were sold almost immediately. A lot of childes and ladies from rich families were fascinated by those little creatures at first sight and scrambled for them. Fortunately we were quicker than them,” responded Yao Yi smugly.

Wang Dashan felt slightly regretful in the knowledge that all of them had been sold so soon.

…

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong went into the streets and did find someone who knew about raising foxes. They bought adequate food the white fox cub needed and also wrote down all the tips on raising it.

After that, they resumed their journey carrying the white fox cub with them.

After ten days, they arrived in northern Cangzhou. On that night, they checked into the largest inn in the city. They were only two days’ journey away from the capital city.

Given that they had been traveling for ten consecutive days, Yuwen Tong decided to let them have a day’s rest in the city before departure. Except for a couple of small counties, the capital city would be the only place that they could get a good rest, but currently, it was inadvisable to hurry into the capital city.

This time even Zhao Pingchuan and Zhang Xi didn’t feel any displeasure. After ten days’ non-stop travel, the two of them were also exhausted.

“Are you nervous?” Since they were very close to the capital city, Yuwen Tong asked Ling Zhang whether he was nervous or not.

After hearing this question, Ling Zhang carrying the white fox cub replied, “I would be lying if I tell you that I’m not nervous, but what I’m nervous about is why there is yet another guy who wants me dead.”

This reply gave Yuwen Tong a somewhat guilty conscience. “Maybe you should move in with me. I’m not comfortable with the idea of you living elsewhere.”

“I cannot run from them forever. And I’d like to find out who it is that want to see me dead. I might be weak, but I’m not going to let them get what they want too easily.”

Yuwen Tong, seeing Ling Zhang was still stroking the white fox cub in his arms and didn’t even raise his head to glance at him, felt somewhat upset. “I got your back. I’ll see that you come to no harm.”

Ling Zhang raised his eyes and flicked him a glimpse. “You’ll be having no less troubles than I will when we’re in the capital city.”

The troubles waiting for him in the capital city didn’t really bother Yuwen Tong, because every time he returned to the capital city, there were always pulsing undercurrents of various kinds running through the city, which was something he had long ago become accustomed to.

“That person has already been escorted to the capital city, I suppose?” Ling Zhang asked.

Yuwen Tong gave a bob of his head. “He’s been taken to Yuwen family.”

“News of the assassination has spread through the whole capital city, hasn’t it? Did your men staying in the capital city find anything? Has the Ninth Princess taken any particular course of actions?”

Yuwen Tong replied, “The Ninth Princess went to the Zhaohua Temple to pray to the Buddha for blessings half a month ago and has not returned to the capital city yet.”

“This is so coincidental. Do you think she is intentionally doing this to avoid us?”

“No matter whether she’s deliberately avoiding us or not, we will find some traces, one way or another, as long as that was indeed her doing. Besides, we’ve already escorted the assassin into the capital city. With the testimony of this witness as a line of inquiry, the one behind the scenes will undoubtedly be found out, no matter whether this person is the Ninth Princess or not. There should be definite news by the time we arrive in the capital city.”

Ling Zhang inclined his head. ‘That’s great.

But about the Ninth Princess… ‘

“Exactly how many daughters does the emperor have? And how many of them are of marriageable age?”

After a brief moment’s surprised silence, Yuwen Tong observed, “Why do you ask? You’ve got me.”

Ling Zhang slid him a sideways glance, as if warning him not to steer the conversation away.

Yuwen Tong was thrown into resignation. Since his attempt to change the topic had failed, he had no choice but to honestly answer the question. If he didn’t, Ling Zhang might take the white fox cub and leave him for good.

“The emperor had twelve daughters. Four of them died young, so there are actually eight princesses. The Eighth Princess and the The Tenth Princess, who are elder sister and younger sister of the Ninth Princess respectively, are of marriageable age. The other two princesses are still young.”

Ling Zhang stroked the white fox cub, a fairly satisfied expression on his face. In fact, Tao Feng had some time ago informed him of this.

“So apart from the Ninth Princess, there are at least the Eighth Princess and the Tenth Princess who might be betrothed to you by the emperor?”

This remark brought embarrassment to Yuwen Tong’s face. “Even if the emperor did have such intention, that was in the past. Currently, it is us who are officially engaged.”

Ling Zhang gave him a dirty look. “What is it that you think I’m going to say? The point I’ve been trying to make is that if the other two princesses also intend to marry you, they would also want me dead, which means I’ll have to keep an eye out.”

Yuwen Tong hurriedly said, “The Eighth Princess was betrothed to someone long ago.”

“Oh? How do you know?”

“Ur… That was several years ago. Everybody knows.”

Ling Zhang decided to let this go. “And the The Tenth Princess?”

This time, Yuwen Tong was somewhat hesitant. “It is said that the Tenth Princess has mental deficiency, but I never paid any attention to her, so I didn’t try to verify whether the rumors are true.”

Ling Zhang was dismayed to hear this. “Mental deficiency?”

Yuwen Tong inclined his head. “Her mother is an unfavored concubine of the emperor. She suffered a lot during childhood, which resulted in her mental retardation.”

Something seemed to have just occurred to Ling Zhang. “During childhood? So she’s been have mental retardation for many years?”

“Exactly.”

“As things stand, it is indeed the most likely that the Ninth Princess is the one the emperor intends to marry to you. The Eighth Princess has already been betrothed, so she’s not an option. As regards the Tenth Princess, no matter whether she really has mental deficiency or not, she is retarded in the eyes of the people and the emperor, which means she is also not suitable to be married to you, since the emperor will have to face revilement from his subjects if he betroths her to you.”

This meant that, from the vantage point of the present, everything indicated the Ninth Princess was the one who had ordered the two palace guards to assassinate Ling Zhang.

“The Ninth Princess is daughter of the Concubine De. I heard that the emperor favors her very much, that the Fourth Prince is her elder brother, who bears the title of the Huiwang King and is a force to be reckoned with in the imperial court.”

Ling Zhang slowly repeated what Tao Feng had told him.

“If the Fourth Prince is just as ambitious as the Sixth Prince, he would definitely marry his younger sister to you trying to co-opt you, given how easy it’ll be for him to eliminate the Crown Prince and ascend the throne providing he has you at his back. It seems that I’ve probably got in the way of the Fourth Prince. I haven’t reached the capital city yet, but I’ve already become a thorn in his flesh.

As it stands, those on the side of the Crown Prince are actually the ones who don’t want the Ninth Princess marrying you the most. People on the side of the Third Prince who was given birth to by the Concubine Xian, as well as those on the side of the Fifth Prince whose natural mother is the Concubine Liang definitely hate the idea of you marrying the Ninth Princess as well. However, much as they don’t want the Ninth Princess marrying you, they no doubt wish to marry their younger sisters or elder sisters to you, which makes them no less anxious to see me dead. Uh… Taking all these into account, I believe there are a lot of people having every reason to kill me. Do you think some other assassins will show up during the next two days?”

At a loss for words, Yuwen Tong fell speechless with embarrassment.

“Was it Tao Feng who told you you all this?”

Ling Zhang lowered his head and stroked the white fox cub. “Yeah. Lord Tao is a pretty interesting man. If some day I’m really somebody, I’ll definitely return the favor.”

Yuwen Tong was reduced to an embarrassed silence.

Never had he wished so strongly that Ling Zhang were less intelligent.

However, the thought that Ling Zhang had willingly followed him to this place dissolved his worry considerably.

“You specially allowed them to have a day’s rest here because you know what’s coming for us, right?” Ling Zhang added.

Yuwen Tong’s pulse was throbbing in his throat again. Now he deeply felt that Ling Zhang was being too smart, which made him a little panic-stricken.

“I’ll take you into the capital city in one piece.”

Ling Zhang nodded. “I know. If you don’t…”

He raised his head, looked at Yuwen Tong and gave a smile. “I won’t stop haunting you even after I die and become a ghost.”

Yuwen Tong was reduced to an embarrassed silence.

“You have only your charm to blame. And all those attracted to you are so powerful that every one of them is capable of crushing me to death with a single finger of theirs.”

Yuwen Tong started an in-depth introspection. For the first time, he felt it a trifle regrettable that he was such an eligible man. After a few moments thinking, he apologized to Ling Zhang in a sincere tone of voice. “I’m sorry for having been working so hard to improve myself. It’s not really my wish to have become a man of such magnetism.”

Ling Zhang was thrown into speechlessness.

His cheeks bulged with annoyance.

And then the Marshal was evicted from the room.

“This little fox is far better company than you are. Go wherever it is that you find comfortable and don’t come back.”

And then the door was slammed shut.

Yuwen Tong stroked his nose. Though the door nearly knocked his nose flat, he still couldn’t help but curve up the corners of his mouth in a faint smile.

“Marshal?” Wang Dashan and others guarding outside the room watched him in dismay.

‘Is he in trouble with young master? But it doesn’t make any sense. Young master is so angry, yet the Marshal is still smiling?’

All of them were in puzzlement.

Yuwen Tong stopped smiling and said, “Do your job and stay alert. Under no circumstances should this room be left unguarded.”

“Yes, Marshal!” Wang Dashan and others chorused, subconsciously throwing their chests out.

It was not until Yuwen Tong left that Wang Dashan and others pulled themselves out of awe and looked at each other, at a loss for words.

“Did young master and the Marshal have a quarrel?”

“I think so.”

“Then why was the Marshal smiling?”

“Uh… Some kind of personal preference?”

“…”

All others fell speechless. As bachelors, they couldn’t quite understand what that was. After all, it was somewhat hurtful to think about this kind of matters.

Before long, lunch was delivered to the doorway. Liu Yi examined the food by sticking a silver needle into it. After confirming that there was nothing wrong, he took the lunch box and knocked at the door. “Young Master, your lunch is here.”

“Bring it in.”

Liu Yi pushed the door open and was greeted by the scene of Ling Zhang teasing the white fox cub.

The white fox cub had become less somnolent during the past two days and had opened its liquid black eyes. It had some kind of inexplicable and innate affinity for Ling Zhang, which was manifested in the total disregard it showed to all others, including Yuwen Tong.

At this time, the white fox cub, head up, was letting out faint soft cries, rubbing itself against the tip of Ling Zhang’s nose.

There was manifest delight on Ling Zhang’s face, who didn’t at all seemed to have just had a quarrel with Yuwen Tong.

Liu Yi thought for a few moments and believed that maybe they did overthink it. ‘So that was really some kind of… Ur… personal preference.’

He put the dishes and the soup cup down onto the table and then placed a bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks in suitable positions.

“Young Master, would you like me to take care of the white fox cub for you?”

“That won’t be necessary. Let it stay where it is,” replied Ling Zhang. “I’ll get it something to eat later.”

“Yes, Young Master. I take my leave. Please call me if you need anything.”

“Okay. Go and have lunch. There’s no need for all of you to be on guard at the same time. Do it in shifts. You need enough strength to perform your duties well.”

“I’ll relay your instruction, Young Master.”

Chapter 161: The White Fox’s Saving Its Master from Being Poisoned

Ling Zhang affectionately rubbed the tip of his nose against the white fox cub’s nose and said, “Be good. I’ll get you something to eat after I finish my lunch.”

The white fox cub let out a soft cry in response, as if having understood Ling Zhang’s words, which melted Ling Zhang’s heart and gave Ling Zhang an almost overwhelming desire to give up the meal.

He flicked a glance at the dishes on the table, all of which were of appetizing looks and delicious smell, making his mouth water.

Ling Zhang took up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat and was just about to send it into his mouth when he saw that the white fox cub suddenly started sniffing in this direction crying urgently.

After a brief trance of surprise, Ling Zhang put down the chopsticks. “What’s wrong? Are you terribly hungry? I’ll feed you immediately after I finish lunch. I’ll be quick. Just hold on for a few moments.”

With that he picked up that piece of meat intending to eat it, but the white fox cub started crying urgently once again, and the cries were even sharper and somewhat brittle. Its sparkling black eyes were staring at Ling Zhang with manifest anxiety in them.

This time Ling Zhang was really amazed. He put down his chopsticks again. “You want this piece of meat?”

And then his brows were furrowed. “But the raiser told me that it’s inadvisable for you to eat this kind of food for the moment.”

He thought that he should finish the meal as soon as possible and then feed the white fox cub.

However, the white fox cub was very anxious. Seeing Ling Zhang was about to send that piece of meat into his mouth, it abruptly rose to its feet in the cotton-padded jacket and leaped towards Ling Zhang, crying urgently.

Ling Zhang was taken aback, subconsciously dropped his chopsticks and quickly went to catch the white fox cub.

Unsurprisingly, still young and unable to jump far, the white fox cub hit its head on the edge of the table and fell to the ground, groaning in pain repeatedly.

Heart aching badly for it, Ling Zhang hurriedly picked it up, checked it carefully and asked in an anxious tone, “Did it hurt? Are you injured?”

After being picked up by Ling Zhang, the white fox cub curled up in his arms, occupied both of his hands, raised its head and softly cried at him. The cries sounded not as urgent as the previous ones.

Ling Zhang, no longer in the mood for lunch, carried the white fox cub outside and informed Liu Yi and some others, “Get it something to eat. I think it’s starving.”

Liu Yi and other security guards had become accustomed to feeding the white fox cub. They nodded and spared one of them to prepare fox food.

At this time, the white fox cub was quietly lying on Ling Zhang’s hands and no longer crying, as if aware that somebody was preparing food for it.

Relieved, Ling Zhang pulled a wry face and observed, “It’s a short-tempered little guy.”

However, he was still somewhat surprised. In fact, the little fox cub had just had a small meal in the morning. According to the dietary habits it had developed during the past half a month, this was not its usual mealtime. Even if it was really hungry, it wouldn’t behave so anxiously. ‘Was it because it had grown somewhat and needed an extra meal?’ Ling Zhang wondered.

At this time, Yuwen Tong, who had left the inn earlier this day to pay a visit to somewhere, returned. Seeing Ling Zhang standing at the doorway with the white fox cub in his arms, he was somewhat surprised. “Why are you standing there? Have you had lunch?”

Heedless of the disagreement they had had in the morning, Ling Zhang told him about the white fox cub’s reaction a while ago.

Yuwen Tong looked at the white fox cub thoughtfully and commented, “It is said that white foxes are highly intelligent animals.”

Ling Zhang was puzzled. “So they have low tolerance to hunger?”

Yuwen Tong shook his head, entered the room and looked at the meal on the table. Then he took up and sniffed at those dishes one by one while his eyes gazing at the white fox cub.

Meanwhile, Ling Zhang was just standing beside the table carrying the white fox cub. Seeing what Yuwen Tong was doing, he immediately understood, a grave expression on his face. The white fox cub, in particular, craned out of his arms and watched Yuwen Tong with vigilant eyes.

It was noteworthy that the white fox cub tended to give Yuwen Tong the cold shoulder. Never once had it shown such interest in Yuwen Tong’s every move.

When Yuwen Tong took the chopsticks…

A brittle cry was suddenly heard. The white fox cub warily eyed the chopsticks in Yuwen Tong’s hands, crying in intense anxiety.

Yuwen Tong’s face slightly changed. He raised the chopsticks, sniffed at them and eventually put them down.

Ling Zhang looked at the pair of chopsticks. “Is there anything wrong?”

Yuwen Tong replied, “I don’t smell anything particular, but it’s also possible that the strong smell of these dishes is concealing that of whatever on the chopsticks.”

After saying this, he raised his voice telling Wang Dashan to get Xie Shi.

Wang Dashan standing at the doorway had seen what was going on inside the room. In the knowledge that this was a serious matter, he immediately left and brought Xie Shi to the room.

Xie Shi walked inside and was informed of what had happened. He took the chopsticks away and, after the duration of drinking a pot of tea(approximately 10 minutes), returned and told them in a grave tone of voice, “There’s poison on the chopsticks. It’s colorless, odorless and was applied to the chopsticks and then dried, which was why Childe Ling failed to detect it. This poison has a very high level of toxicity and takes immediate effect after coming into contact with anyone’s throat. Someone did this to the chopsticks with the intention of killing Childe Ling.”

With a deep frown on his face, Ling Zhang held the white fox cub tighter. If it weren’t for this little fox, he would have been dead for quite some time.

His security guards always checked the food before delivering it to him, and of course they checked the chopsticks as well, but even Yao Yi might not be able to detect a poison of this kind, not to mention these security guards. Only Xie Shi, who was well acquainted with detoxication, was capable of detecting its presence.

“Find out who did this!” Yuwen Tong had an icy look on his face, an intense aura of thinly disguised murderousness about him.

His bodyguards quickly took action and soon ascertained whose hands the chopsticks had gone through, and then who applied the poison. It was a waiter of the inn, but…

That man had died after taking poison, which was the same as the kind of poison found on the chopsticks.

Yuwen Tong was angry, unprecedentedly angry, and his anger soon affected the whole city.

The inquiry started from the waiters of the inn. His bodyguards managed to get a lot of key information within two hours.

Their checking into this inn had not been scheduled in advance. Yuwen Tong never told anybody beforehand where he would be staying. He always informed his bodyguards of which inn they would check into for accommodations shortly before check-in.

Either someone had been waiting in the city for them to walk into the trap, or there were moles in the group.

This time, it was ascertained that a stranger had made contact with the waiter in the morning.

With clues provided by other waiters of the inn, the bodyguards started a citywide inquiry into this incident.

The culprit definitely wouldn’t leave so soon, since he or she had to confirm whether or not Ling Zhang had been poisoned.

This gave the bodyguards enough time to identify that person!

When the man was found, Yao Yi unhesitatingly dislocated his lower jaw lest he bite through a wax ball with poison inside to commit suicide like the assassin disguised as a palace guard had done.

All of them were aware that Yuwen Tong had really been angered this time, so they didn’t dare to waste any time, directly inflicted torture on the man and had him disclose who the mastermind was.

“It was Peng Fang working for the Ministry of Works. Marshal, Peng Fang used to serve the Sixth Prince. After the Sixth Prince was put under house arrest, he had switched his allegiance to the Third Prince,” reported Yao Yi. News they received from the capital city had been getting more and more detailed as they got closer to the capital city. Yue Qi had been having intelligence reports delivered to them from the capital city non-stop.

Yuwen Tong’s eyes were as cold as a saber. “Investigate Peng Fang. It must be ascertained whether it was Zhou Mingshen or Zhou Mingyuan that gave the order.”

“Yes, Marshal!”

“Zhang Liu, depart for the capital city right now. Find out everything about Zhou Mingyuan. Not a single omission or mistake of any kind is to be tolerated.”

“Yes, Marshal!”

Ling Zhang had been silent all along, not because he was scared but because he had just come to realize that he was faced with far more dangers than he had expected.

During his talk with Yuwen Tong in the morning, he stated that he had already found out the identities of all those in the capital city who wanted him dead. However, he had forgotten that the mastermind had a lot of stooges. There were so many people who intended to kill him!

The only thing that made him feel lucky was that he had got this white fox cub, which he had Yao Yi and some others to thank for. If it weren’t for this little fox, he would really have ended up dead in this inn.

This was also the reason why Yuwen Tong was furious. This incident had happened right under his nose. He had thought that the security arrangements he had made were tight enough, but the enemy still managed to find a loophole.

“Stop being angry. It’s not you but all of us who are responsible for this omission,” Ling Zhang said to Yuwen Tong. “Let it serve as a warning to us.”

With a sullen face, Yuwen Tong thought for quite a while and then replied, “I understand.”

He was Yuwen Tong, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Great Yue, who had numerous men around him protecting him, and who had made it out of mountains of corpses and sea of blood several times. Over the years, he had long ago got accustomed to the conceit resulted from the idea that everything was under his control, which was why he had almost forgotten that some tricks were so dirty and venomous that they were impossible to be defended against effectively!

And…

Yao Yi slumped to his knees. “I’m guilty! I deserve to be punished, Marshal!”

They had been serving Yuwen Tong from the very beginning and had always been vigilant and discreet, but maybe just like Yuwen Tong who had become unduly conceited, they had made a careless mistake despite the fact that they had been vigilant and discreet for years, which resulted in the present situation.

After quite a while, Yuwen Tong instructed, “You’ll be punished after returning to the capital city. Now go and do what you are supposed to do.”

“Yes, Marshal!”

Ling Zhang frowned, intending to intercede on behalf of Yao Yi and others. He didn’t think this was their fault. Besides, if it weren’t for the white fox cub given to him by Yao Yi and others…

“Only by getting the punishment they deserve will they be able to learn the lesson, lodge it firmly in their minds and save everybody’s life at a crucial moment. There’s no need for you to intercede for them.” Yuwen Tong seemed to know what Ling Zhang was thinking about.

Ling Zhang lapsed into silence after hearing these words.

At this time, Wang Dashan and other security guards were having such a guilty conscience that they could barely forbear from committing suicide to atone for their negligence.

The food and chopsticks had gone through their hands but they had failed to detect the poison and allowed it to be delivered to Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang didn’t mete out any punishment to any of them. He merely asked, “Who’s interested in learning detoxication?”

Yao Yi and other bodyguards wouldn’t be able to protect him forever. A group of trained and skilled subordinates of his own would solely be what he could rely on.

Wang Dashan and other security guards raced each other to state their willingness –

“Young Master, I want to learn it!”

“I’m interested!”

“Me, too!”

Ling Zhang inclined his head. “Since all of you want to learn it, when Guard Xie is available, I’ll ask him to help test you to find out which one of you has the greatest talent for this. It’s not that I’m partial towards anybody but that I want to use the best material at the key point. When we are in the capital city, you’ll have to learn a lot more other skills apart from the trap-and-kill formation and detoxication skills.”

“Rest assured, Young Master, all of us understand.”

Naturally, palace guards and Zhang Xi, who were staying in the rooms on the second floor, heard the commotion upstairs and came to Ling Zhang’s room to see. After being informed of what had happened, all of them involuntarily tensed their back muscles.

Zhao Pingchuan was particularly nervous, fearing that once again any of his subordinates would be found responsible for this incident.

On hearing that the culprit was an outsider, Zhao Pingchuan breathed a sigh of great relief.

“Gonggong (Gonggong is a respectful form of address for an old eunuch whose rank is higher than that of common eunuchs), I really wish I could return to the capital city right now,” Zhao Pingchuan informed of Zhang Xi.

Zhang Xi also had a worried expression on his face. “You must be joking, Commander Zhao. Neither of us is calling the shots here. Let’s just hope there will be no more surprises during the next two days.”

Otherwise they wouldn’t be able to say for sure that neither of them would be implicated.

Chapter 162: A Beautiful “Fairy Maiden”?

The white fox cub became the star of the group. Not only Ling Zhang but also everybody else came to regard the white fox cub with special esteem, feeling that this was unmistakably a highly intelligent creature!

Nobody dared to trifle with the white fox cub, neither food-wise nor accommodation-wise. All of them were trying their level best to make sure that the white fox cub enjoyed its life to the full.

Yuwen Tong had also no longer felt the white fox cub an eyesore, which had been a rare change of attitude, considering what kind of man he was. ‘It turns out that this little guy could be rather useful at a crucial moment.’

…

“Your Lordship, we lost contact with our men in the Wu City!”

“How did this happen?!”

In the residence of the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Works, Peng Fang’s face changed drastically with alarm when he was informed that they had lost contact with those dispatched to the Wu City.

“I’m afraid something bad happened. So far, there has been no news about Ling Zhang being poisoned from the Wu City. Your Lordship, what should we do?!”

“This can’t be happening. Our approach was of extreme covertness. How was it possible that Ling Zhang managed to detect the colorless and odorless poison?!” Peng Fang didn’t believe that his plan had failed.

“But, Your Lordship, there has indeed been no news about Ling Zhang being poisoned from the Wu City so far. We need to think of another plan immediately!”

Ling Zhang had not been poisoned, and they had lost contact with the men dispatched there. Under these circumstances, the only plausible explanation was that their doings had been exposed!

After anxiously pacing up and down for a few moments, Peng Fang instructed, “Go and inform the Third Prince of this right now. Beseech him to figure out a way.”

His subordinate hesitatingly swallowed back the words on the tip of his tongue. Seeing this, Peng Fang stared at him and queried, “What do you want to say?”

“Your Lordship, we gave the Third Prince a written guarantee promising him that we would get this job done. Now it was botched up. I’m afraid the Third Prince…”

With a sullen look on his face, Peng Fang no longer insisted on asking the Third Prince for help. After thinking for quite a while, he remarked, “There are two things I need you to do. First, send someone to the Wu City to make some inquiries. I want to know exactly what happened in the Wu City. Second, I need you to…”

Peng Fang lowered his voice and whispered quite some arrangements in the ear of his subordinate, who, after hearing them, inclined his head and replied, “I’ll do it straight away.”

After his subordinate left, Peng Fang’s face abruptly fell venomous.

“Even if they’ve really found out, what could they possibly do about it? I can still get away!”

In the Wu City.

The caravan resumed their journey after a day’s rest. It was just that every one of them was much more vigilant than before.

They would reach the capital city in merely two days. Those who intended to take action would definitely make another attempt.

However…

Ling Zhang looked at the veil hat he was wearing, shifted his gaze to the white fox cub in his left arm, and then glanced at his right hand that was being held. He couldn’t help but ask, “Is it really necessary to wear this hat?”

Yuwen Tong gave a backward glance at him and, with an approving look in his eyes, replied, “It’s better if you keep wearing it, so that nobody will recognize you.”

“Who on earth would be able to recognize me?! Actually it surprises me why you are not wearing a hat, given that we are so close to the capital city now and there are so many people who can recognize you,” remarked Ling Zhang in indignation.

Yuwen Tong stroked the beard that he had stuck to his face. “I’ve got a beard here.”

Yuwen Tong had disguised himself as an upstart master. He was wearing not only sumptuous clothes but also quite some jewelries, and there was a thick beard stuck to his face, which was an image bearing no resemblance to his true appearance. Ling Zhang, who found him somewhat an eyesore, was fairly unwilling to walk side by side with him who insisted they stay hand in hand.

Compared with Yuwen’s disguise which was offending the eye, this hat indeed seemed to be rather more acceptable.

However, this white over garment he was wearing was made of very light material. Added to this the veil hat, it was quite difficult for people to tell whether he was a man or a woman. He had already encountered several men whose eyes had appraised his figure and stared at his veil hat.

And he was carrying a white fox cub in the crook of his arm, too. The white fox cub looking like a ball of fur was napping in the crook of his elbow, which had attracted the attention of numerous passers-by.

This was giving Ling Zhang headaches. “Are you sure this is the right way to hide our identities?”

‘Aren’t we making ourselves more obtrusive?!’ he wondered.

“Everything will be fine as long as nobody find out who we really are. Do you not want to walk around and see this place? We’ll never be rid of worry if we travel with the others,” observed Yuwen Tong. He was very satisfied with how things were going currently. There was no shadow whatsoever, just the two of them, and they could do whatever they felt like doing!

“Are you hungry? Let’s go to that tavern at the front and get something to eat first.”

Ling Zhang fell speechless with embarrassment.

‘It’s been only a short while since we departed! We haven’t even walked out of the downtown of the Wu City!’

However, Ling Zhang was still drawn into the tavern by Yuwen Tong. After entering a private room, Ling Zhang, indignant, reached out his hand to take off the veil hat.

“Yo, wait a moment, darling. You may take it off after the dishes are served. If by any chance anybody else beholds your matchless beauty, I’ll be suffering a great loss.”

Yuwen Tong grabbed Ling Zhang’s hand and stopped him.

It happened that a waiter walked in to deliver the menu. On hearing this, he couldn’t help but gaze at Ling Zhang.

“What are you looking at? Withdraw your eyes right now or see them gouged out!” Yuwen Tong said, feeling his tone possessive enough.

Beneath his ferocious gaze, the waiter hurriedly took his eyes off Ling Zhang and didn’t dare to look at him again. After respectfully taking their order, he immediately left.

However, no sooner had he walked out of the door than he uttered “Bah” and murmured that a fresh flower had been stuck in a heap of cow-dung, that the moral degeneration of the world was getting worse day by day and the God was turning a blind eye to it.

Inside the room, Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang were sent speechless by his words.

Originally, Ling Zhang had been rather angry with Yuwen Tong after being addressed as “darling”, but on hearing the waiter’s words, his anger instantly dissolved. “He’s referring to you, cow-dung.”

Yuwen Tong gave a smile typical of that of a lecher, reached out his hand and pinched Ling Zhang’s chin with the veil between his fingers and Ling Zhang’s skin. “Little flower, you are such a delicate beauty.”

Face full of embarrassment, Ling Zhang abruptly slapped Yuwen Tong’s hand aside. “Don’t touch me. You look like a hooligan. Shame on you.”

He had almost forgotten that Yuwen Tong was indeed a hooligan. ‘It was so stupid of me to have agreed to come out with him bringing no attendants.’

Soon, the dishes were served. While Yuwen Tong was not paying attention, the waiter, on his way out, contemptuously and disdainfully gave Yuwen Tong a dirty look.

Seeing this, Ling Zhang sitting on the opposite side fell speechless but quite amused.

The waiter’s jaw would probably sag with shock if anybody informed him that the man he had just scorned was Yuwen Tong.

“Can I take it off now?”

Yuwen Tong inclined his head. “Go ahead.”

Ling Zhang rolled his eyes, took off the veil hat and put it aside.

Then he placed the white fox cub on his lap and said, “I’ve got to get something to eat for Whitie. We can’t let it suffer from hunger.”

Yuwen Tong flicked a glance at the white fox cub which was comfortably lying on the lap of Ling Zhang. In a somewhat envious tone of voice, he replied, “Just wait for a few moments. I’ll have the tavern-keeper get something for it later.”

In fact, there was some food prepared for the white fox cub right in the traveling bag beside Yuwen Tong, but it was solid food. Since they were not in the wild, Yuwen Tong believed that they should get some fresh food for the white fox cub.

Ling Zhang gently stroked the white fox cub and said, “Whitie, you seem to have become thinner.”

The white fox cub gave a soft, faint cry.

Yuwen Tong stared at it for a while and remarked, “I don’t think it’s thinner, not that I can tell. It’s right in the period of life when it grows the quickest. And the food we’ve been feeding to it lately is fine and nutritious. It has grown a lot.”

“Really?” Ling Zhang was very skeptical.

Yuwen Tong was reduced to an embarrassed silence.

“Let’s just eat. The dishes are getting cold.”

Ling Zhang inclined his head. It was a little early for lunch, but they wouldn’t be able to find another tavern as good as this one to enjoy this kind of high-quality food after leaving downtown area.

“Ouch!”

Suddenly, a pained cry came from outside, followed by a babble of voices.

“You damn old man. Are you blind? How dare you bump into me!”

“Why are you being so unreasonable, young man? Clearly it was you who bumped into me –an old man. You not only didn’t apologize but also are being so domineering!”

“This is such a broad road. Why didn’t you walk on the other side of it? If you answer back again, I’ll beat you to death!”

“What did you just say?! You…”

Ling Zhang put down his chopsticks, scooped up the white fox cub, walked up to the window and looked down.

In the street down below, a lot of people gathered around an old man and a youngster. The old man, who was lying on the ground propping himself up on his hands, seemed to have trouble rising to his feet. The youngster was standing there hurling abuse at the old man.

Lookers-on around them were pointing and discussing, accusing the young man of being undignified and ignorant, but none of them dared to come to the old man’s help.

The young man had a couple of attendants behind him and his attire seemed rather sumptuous as well, which indicated that he was probably a childe from some rich family in this city.

Feeling this unacceptable, Ling Zhang turned around, took a chopstick from the table, shot it downwards and hit the childe squarely on the foot with which he was about to kick the old man. The childe let out an anguished cry. “Ouch! What the hell is this?”

Ling Zhang had already accumulated some internal energy inside him, which had made his strength considerably greater than before, so that shooting chopstick had definitely been quite a heavy blow.

However, compared with that of Yuwen Tong, Ling Zhang’s strength was still not great enough. Had it been Yuwen Tong who had shot that chopstick, it would have gone straight through, if not shattered, the foot bone of the young man.

Attendants of the childe were instantly on the alert and looked around trying to find out who had attacked their master. One of them saw the chopstick on the ground and informed his companions. With that, all of them twisted their heads around to look at the tavern on the side.

Yuwen Tong had quickly put the veil hat back onto Ling Zhang’s head, feeling that that good-for-nothing, domineering playboy down there was totally unworthy of laying eyes on Ling Zhang’s looks.

Originally, Ling Zhang had had a rather cold expression on his face, but after Yuwen Tong did this, he felt somewhat resigned and stared at him.

People down below soon noticed Ling Zhang standing beside a window, who had a graceful figure and was carrying a little white fox in “her” arms. The white veil hanging from the brim of the hat was flying gently in a breeze, making “her” seem like a fairy maiden who had descended to the mortal world!

“A fairy maiden!”

“Wow, she’s so beautiful!”

Ling Zhang fell speechless.

‘What the hell has got into these people?’ he wondered.

That domineering childe was no longer angry. He leered fixedly at Ling Zhang for a while, then turned around and aimed a kick at the attendant standing behind him. “Wh–What are you standing there for? Go upstairs right now and invite the fairy maiden down here! All of you!”

The childe had conveniently shown a total disregard for Yuwen Tong who was standing beside Ling Zhang, as if he weren’t there.

Yuwen Tong’s face darkened. A sulky look appeared in his eyes.

Before long, a couple of men were thrown out of the tavern one after another, all of whom were attendants of the childe. After landing onto the ground, each of them spat out a mouthful of blood. One of them heavily bumped into the childe, leaving him half dead.

“Ouch!”

Pained cries escaped from the lips of those men non-stop.

This sudden change sent a ripple of exclamation through the crowd around the scene. Fear gleaming in their eyes, they tossed a glance at Ling Zhang and then none of them dared to stare at him any more.

The old man, who had just been raised to his feet from the ground, said to Ling Zhang, “Thank you for your help, kind lady.”

Ling Zhang: …

“Don’t mention it,” he replied after a while.

All people on the street were instantly thrown into a stunned silence. ‘That’s a man?!’

The childe who had been knocked half dead spat out a mouthful of blood and blacked out.

All lookers-on cleared off with disappointed faces. “What makes this guy think he needs a veil hat to prevent people from being attracted to him? He must be going soft in the head!”

These people were discussing while leaving and Ling Zhang heard them distinctly. The corner of his mouth involuntarily twitched with awkwardness several times.

But the old man gave no special reaction. He added, “I was mistaken. Thank you for saving me, Childe. And please forgive me for my incorrect use of form of address just now.”

“There’s no need for you to apologize for that, old gentleman. Are you hurt? Maybe you should go and see a physician,” said Ling Zhang.

“Alas. I’m a quite robust old man. I sustained no injury, but I do feel a little hungry…” While saying this, the old man looked at Ling Zhang with meaningful eyes.

Neither of them said anything in the next few moments. Eventually, Ling Zhang responded resignedly, “Please come upstairs, old gentleman.”